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Positive start from Pochettino

6 min read
by Ross Hunter
The international break is the ideal time to take stock of Pochettino's start to his Spurs career. Ross Hunter makes his debut on The Fighting Cock and discusses what has changed at Spurs since the Argentine arrived at White Hart Lane.

Of the options in the summer to replace Tim Sherwood, Mauricio Pochettino didn’t on first glance scream excitement. He doesn’t have the fantastic reputation as a player that De Boer has, the aura of Louis van Gaal or the track record of Rafael Benitez, but even in these early months of his tenure as Spurs manager, I have noticed a number of things that have given me reason to be optimistic for the future of our club.

maur-poch_2912969bMuch has been made of Pochettino’s style of play at Southampton in the 18 months prior to his move to White Hart Lane. The high line, the hard pressing and quick and intricate passing in the final third were all noteworthy hallmarks of his footballing philosophy, a philosophy common amongst those who learned their trade under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa. But, amongst the plaudits, and they came from far and wide, there were a few dissenting voices. These voices spoke of a manager with no Plan B, and a manager who does not know how to influence a match when the tide is turning against his team.

Although it is far too early to refute this particular slight with any real conviction, I feel that Pochettino showed us as early as the first league game that this is not strictly the case. Against West Ham, we obviously had to face the war of attrition that comes with a visit to the home of Piggy Sam, a man who has managed to harness modern statistical analysis to make a team so prehistoric, Spielberg must be considering renaming his famous trilogy ‘Jurassic Plaistow’.

This task was made even more difficult by the harsh sending off of Kyle Naughton in the first half. Rather than panic, a few tweaks to the shape of the team, rather than a wasted substitution, gave us some renewed steel at the back, whilst still allowing us to exert ourselves on the game.

[linequote] His footballing philosophy, is a philosophy common amongst those who learned their trade under the tutelage of Marcelo Bielsa[/linequote]

In other games we have seen Pochettino adopt tactics to suit, most notably in the game against Arsenal at the Death Star. Rather than playing a high line which is synonymous with a high pressing game, we handed the ‘initiative’, or so they thought, to the opposition. We let them have the ball in front of us and kept the space between our back four and Hugo tight, and simply didn’t allow Arsenal in behind all game. In the end, I think we could have won the game and more than deserved a share of the points.

As well as a welcome pragmatic approach, we have become much more organised and resolute. In a number of games so far this season we have come under some heavy pressure and for the most part, we have ridden it out. One of the most sobering aspects of last season were the heavy defeats suffered, particularly at the hands of our London rivals, and the pitiful level of responsibility taken by the players. You could argue that this cost two different managers their jobs, amongst other reasons.

Again I cannot state strongly enough that it is still early, but I have been impressed with the solidity of our back line at Arsenal and West Ham, and also in our Europa League game against Besiktas. The latter is a side that should have been playing in the Champions League, and our second string held them at bay for 89 minutes, until Vlad the Inhaler undone us late on with a characteristic error.

[linequote]Being a defender from South American stock, it should be no surprise that we’re looking more aggressive and solid at the back[/linequote]

The manager’s antics have been telling on the touchline, he simply won’t take any s**t from the players, and hopefully they continue to buy into his ideas and take the bollocking as it is intended. The performances so far against our London rivals has been much improved, and long may it continue.

However, Pochettino’s touchline tantrums also betray the fact that the players are still getting to grips with the system, and we are likely to have to experience a bit of short term pain for long term gain whilst the gaffer’s philosophy is imprinted on the squad.

I’ve touched on the Besiktas game, so it seems appropriate to note that I am extremely happy with Pochettino’s approach so far in the Europa League. It is a happy medium between Harry Redknapp, who would quite happily take a dump in the much maligned trophy, and AVB, who had a rather unhealthy obsession with flogging our first team players to death in the early stages of the competition.

We seem to be taking it seriously, but utilising the squad intelligently, keeping players on their toes and keeping the most important player involved. Hugo Lloris. I appreciate that Michel Vorm is a more than able deputy for the great Frenchman, but I just can’t get enough of his Gallic gallantry between the sticks. He really seems to have gotten his mojo back, and he is the perfect last line of defence in this competition, giving our second string confidence to play their game safe in the knowledge that he can hold his own. That wasn’t always the case with Brad protecting the end zone.

Last but certainly not least, we look extremely capable of playing some exciting football, but without leaving ourselves too open.

Our last two managers have really split the fanbase. Under Sherwood we rarely looked short of a goal or two, but looked like a disorganised rabble at times, whilst last season under Andre we lacked fluidity, creativity and confidence to express ourselves as a team and as individuals.

I suppose being a defender from South American stock, it should be no surprise that we’re looking more aggressive and solid at the back whilst putting a hefty emphasis on flair in the final third. In terms of our attacking options, Lamela is slowly but surely beginning to flourish, whilst Eriksen is slowly beginning to get to grips with the physical demands of Pochettino’s style.  Adebayor is struggling so far to get to grips with the system but is a quality performer and if his head remains in the right place, his form will eventually pick up and lastly Chadli has simply been a revelation and is clearly enjoying his new found freedom in Poch’s system.

[linequote]For now, I’m just happy that we look to be back on the right track[/linequote]

The most pleasing aspect is that there is something here for everybody to get into. Personally being brought up on Serie A via James Richardson and Gazzetta Football Italia, I enjoyed the technical possession football under Andre Villas Boas, but concede that this isn’t everybody’s cup of tea. Sherwood’s reckless abandon, much like Redknapp’s, was the opposite end of the spectrum. It was chaos.

He wasn’t my cup of tea, mainly due to his personality more than anything else, but many found it a welcome antidote to AVB’s mechanical football. Early signs are that we may get a healthy balance, and I’ll raise a glass to anyone who can unite the feuding factions in our support.

It really isn’t in my nature to be this positive about Spurs, especially in recent times, as like most of us, I have been burnt far too often and experienced false dawn after false dawn. For now, I’m just happy that we look to be back on the right track and we may even justify our long standing reputation as a cup side by landing a pot this season.

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

Ross Hunter

Don't read my Twitter ramblings. I use Twitter mainly to fart out my frustrations about Spurs.

6 Comments

  1. Cheshuntboy
    09/10/2014 @ 4:37 pm

    Sorry mate, but you’re seeing what you want to see – we could/should have lost at West Ham, got away with it against S’oton courtesy of the miss of the season, and were even flattered by the QPR score, given that several good chances were spurned by Redknapp’s happy band in the closing stages of that supposed ‘walk in the park’. I’m sure we all want Poch to succeed, but he’s got a long, long way to go even to recover the ground lost since AVB’s ill-judged appointment, let alone take us back to the glory days of 2010/11.

  2. Ross Hunter
    09/10/2014 @ 8:43 pm

    Could and should have lost at West Ham? You could lose any game

    Lucky against QPR? You sure fella?

    Lucky that Mane missed the sitter? Maybe, but they’re lucky Chadli’s effort hit the post. You say I’m seeing what I want to see, it could be argued that you’re doing the same in reverse. You come across like a massive Harry fan. Harry was nothing without bale, Modric and VDV. Take Harry away from that team and it plays the same.

    All that being said, it’s just an opinion piece and I don’t expect people to agree

    • Cheshuntboy
      10/10/2014 @ 10:10 am

      If you actually read my comment, I didn’t say we were lucky against QPR – I said that QPR had several good chances (Caulker’s missed header among others) and that 4-0 flattered us, while West Ham missed a penalty against our ten men, and generally dominated the game – we didn’t win it because of any strategic masterstroke from Poch. It’s AVB all over again – the blind faith merchants (like you) will build Poch up as the messiah, regardless of the on-field reality, and of the scale of the problems he hasn’t even begun to deal with – haven’t the disappointments of the last few seasons taught you anything? I daresay you were a ‘mind the gapper’ a couple of years back, so ‘Look out PL, here come Spurs under our great manager (Relegation with Espanyol and mid-table with Saints)’ is totally in character.

  3. Tim
    10/10/2014 @ 12:31 am

    Good article Ross, I definitely see the start of an upward trajectory for Poch and our boys. The defense has been pretty solid in the last couple of weeks (bar the odd error) and our transition to attack is starting to be more fluent as well with Lamela, and Eriksen starting to combine and get used to the new system. A lot of upside for spurs at the moment…

  4. pleb
    10/10/2014 @ 1:00 pm

    An article written through rose colored glasses. Ade plays to suit himself, and how many managers does it take before he will play for the shirt. Get rid of the deadwood and give Poch the new players he may want including strikers to maximize his chances of taking the club where it should be on top.

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